Decoupled oxidation process enabled by atomically dispersed copper electrodes for in-situ chemical water treatment

In-situ wastewater treatment has gained popularity due to cost and energy savings tailored to water sources and user needs. However, this treatment, particularly through advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), poses ecological risks due to the need for strong oxidizing agents. Here, we present a decoupled oxidation process (DOP) using single-atom copper-modified graphite felt electrodes. This process creates a positive potential difference (ΔE ~ 0.5 V) between spatially isolated oxidants and organics and drives electron transfer-based redox reactions. The approach avoids the drawbacks of conventional AOPs, while being capable of treating various recalcitrant electron-rich organics. A floating water treatment device designed based on the DOP approach can degrade organic molecules in large bodies of water with oxidants stored separately in the device. We demonstrate that over 200 L of contaminated water can be treated with a floating device containing only 40 mL of oxidant (10 mM peroxysulphate). The modular device can be used in tandem structures on demand, maximizing water remediation per unit area. Our result provides a promising, eco-friendly method for in-situ water treatment that is unattainable with existing techniques.


Statistics
For all statistical analyses, confirm that the following items are present in in the figure legend, table legend, main text, or or Methods section.

n/a Confirmed
The exact sample size (n) for each experimental group/condition, given as as a discrete number and unit of of measurement A statement on on whether measurements were taken from distinct samples or or whether the same sample was measured repeatedly The statistical test(s) used AND whether they are one-or or two-sided Only common tests should be described solely by name; describe more complex techniques in the Methods section.

A description of of all covariates tested
A description of of any assumptions or or corrections, such as as tests of of normality and adjustment for multiple comparisons A full description of of the statistical parameters including central tendency (e.g.means) or or other basic estimates (e.g.regression coefficient) AND variation (e.g. standard deviation) or or associated estimates of of uncertainty (e.g.confidence intervals) For null hypothesis testing, the test statistic (e.g.F, t, r) with confidence intervals, effect sizes, degrees of of freedom and P value noted Give P values as exact values whenever suitable.
For Bayesian analysis, information on on the choice of of priors and Markov chain Monte Carlo settings For hierarchical and complex designs, identification of of the appropriate level for tests and full reporting of of outcomes Estimates of of effect sizes (e.g.Cohen's d, Pearson's r), ), indicating how they were calculated Our web collection on statistics for biologists contains articles on many of the points above.

Data analysis
For manuscripts utilizing custom algorithms or or software that are central to to the research but not yet described in published literature, software must be be made available to to editors and reviewers.We We strongly encourage code deposition in in a community repository (e.g.GitHub).See the Nature Portfolio guidelines for submitting code & software for further information.

Data Policy information about availability of of data
All manuscripts must include a data availability statement This statement should provide the following information, where applicable: -Accession codes, unique identifiers, or or web links for publicly available datasets -A description of of any restrictions on on data availability -For clinical datasets or or third party data, please ensure that the statement adheres to to our policy Juan Wang Jan 20, 2014 n/a n/a The data that support the findings of of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Did the study involve field work?
Yes No Reporting for specific materials, systems and methods We require information from authors about some types of materials, experimental systems and methods used in many studies.Here, indicate whether each material, system or method listed is relevant to your study.If you are not sure if a list item applies to your research, read the appropriate section before selecting a response.We designed a novel decoupled AOP approach for in-situ water treatment.Moreover, the degradation of organic pollutants such as bisphenol A by this approach in water and the lethal effects of this method on organisms in water such as zebrafish were studied.All the experiments were repeated for three times for each group.
About the degradation of organic pollutants, we chose the reaction volume of 40 mL, 2 L and 200 L, respectively, to illustrate efficiency of our devices in different application scenarios.And the reaction volume chosen based on published reports.Zebrafish are commonly used in laboratory animals.Therefore, to demonstrate that the decoupled AOP approach in this study could reduce the harm of persulfate to aquatic fish, we used commercially farmed zebrafish as samples.The datasets are all generated during and/or analysed during the current study.
Samples were selected by random sampling, and the sample size was determined according to the suitable breeding density of zebrafish.As the experimental fish tank was suitable for holding 4 L water, the amount of zebrafish in each group of experiments was finally determined to be 20.
During the each reaction, the data was recorded and the number of dead zebrafish was counted by Ziwei Yu at scheduled time intervals.
There was no interruption between the beginning of each experiment and the end of the experiment period.
No data were excluded from the analyses.
All attempts to repeat the experiment were successful.
Samples were selected by random sampling.
The zebrafish in the study didn't know if their environment was bad for survival.